How do I find out the border of house? (real estate, insurance)

[john_pittsburgh]

I recently bought new home with backyard that is slopping down (not unusual in this area). After it slopes down it becomes almost level and reaches neighbor's yard. I want to build play set and trampoline for kids in the flat portion. The only problem is I am not sure about my border line. Back house neighbor is not sure as well. Of course they are very nice people and said they wouldn't mind even if crosses to their yard.
I thought my closing document would have something related to survey of house but could not find anything.
I got the quote regarding survey of house. It came down to $600 which is too much for me. I don't need survey of whole yard. I just need to know my backyard border. I checked Allegheny county real estate website but it does not look very clear and image they have is very old. The tree layout is also in zig zag order so that's unreliable as well. Do county have survey? Can I walk to their office and get the document?
Thanks

[Buckeye Burgher]

About the only way to be sure is to break down and pay for a surveyor.
Perhaps if you shop around a bit you can find a better price.

I have similar issues. The fence on one side of my house has subsided down a hillside.
I am sure that a good chunk of my neighbor's property is now on my side of it, though I am
not sure how much.

On the other side, the former neighbors had elderly parents living with them who spoke
very little English. The mom would push the fence in towards our side a bit whenever she wanted
to plant more vegetables in her garden. Hard to find the original fence line now.

[Hopes]

There was a survey done when you bought your house.

Here is how you can find a copy of it:

How to Obtain a Copy of a Property Survey

[ki0eh]

PA generally DOES NOT require a survey on property transfer, as some other states do. If you can't make much sense of the property description on your deed yourself, with obscured or missing pins and monuments, $600 is frankly cheap to hire someone who had better be a licensed land surveyor who may have to go to court with you.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by ki0eh

PA generally DOES NOT require a survey on property transfer, as some other states do.

But the bank probably required a survey. If so, the document exists somewhere.

[ki0eh]

If banks are requiring an actual survey to go with the title insurance now on transfer of a house in town it's either a very new or localized development. It sounds like the OP already found a deed description in his papers. Those are not always easy for a lay person (and sometimes not even a surveyor, honestly) to interpret.

If someone would get hurt on a trampoline, especially if it wasn't declared to either the OP's or the neighbor's insurers (read the fine print carefully on the homeowners' policy, it may be excluded), you can bet some ambulance chaser will get a surveyor out there to find out who to soak for the liability.

[Der Schwabe]

Originally Posted by Hopes

But the bank probably required a survey. If so, the document exists somewhere.

Nope, we bought last year and it was not required.

[grep]

I got my property surveyed for < $500. If that's not in your budget, use the Allegheny County assessment website to look at the dimensions of your property (and your neighbor's if that would help), and pull out the tape measure and take your best guess. Since you said your neighbors don't mind if it crosses into their property a little bit, this might be "good enough".

[Hopes]

Most people aren't aware of what was included in the closing costs. I provided link that explains the various ways he can determine if one exists and where to find it if it does. Otherwise, he has to pay for it be surveyed again if he cares.

I personally would let the neighbor take the lead. If the neighbor doesn't care, I wouldn't care.

[aw_now_what]

Originally Posted by grep

I got my property surveyed for < $500. If that's not in your budget, use the Allegheny County assessment website to look at the dimensions of your property (and your neighbor's if that would help), and pull out the tape measure and take your best guess. Since you said your neighbors don't mind if it crosses into their property a little bit, this might be "good enough".

DIY with a tape measure wouldn't work here because of the property's slope. Lot measurements are done as if one is looking down from above and everything is flat.